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News updates

Valles Caldera open again

First published: Monday, September 12, 2011 1:00 AM
Fire restrictions were lifted in the Valles Caldera National Preserve near Los Alamos Monday and the park reopened to the public. Nearby land in the Santa Fe National Forest burned by the Las Conchas ...

Las Conchas wildfire declared fully contained

First published: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 1:00 AM
LOS ALAMOS — Crews have declared 100 percent containment on the largest wildfire in New Mexico's recorded history. The Las Conchas fire burned more than 244 square miles over 36 days in the mo ...

Weather contributes to Los Alamos fire behavior

First published: Thursday, July 07, 2011 1:00 AM
LOS ALAMOS — Fire crews continue reinforcing fire lines and implementing structure protection plans for the west side of Los Alamos. The Las Conchas Fire has burned 130,691 acres as of Wednes ...

Owners get first look at homes scorched by Las Conchas Fire

First published: Tuesday, July 05, 2011 9:12 PM
LA CUEVA — The owners of homes and summer cabins that were destroyed by a massive wildfire that once threatened Los Alamos surveyed the damage to their properties Tuesday. Firefighters, meanwhil ...

Fire in brief, July 3, 2011

First published: Saturday, July 02, 2011 10:00 PM
Two firefighters injured The first two major injuries of the Las Conchas Fire were reported Saturday. One firefighter broke his leg, and another suffered a head injury when he tripped and fell at ...

State's tab for wildfires: $21 million

First published: Saturday, July 02, 2011 10:00 PM
This year's fire season has been dangerous, frustrating and scary. It also has been expensive. For the fiscal year that ended Thursday, the state spent more than $21 million on firefighting effor ...

Photo galleries of the Las Conchas and Pacheco fires

First published: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 8:00 PM
The New Mexican's photography staff has been capturing the awe and horror of the Las Conchas and Pacheco fires since each broke out. You can review the staff's work on this page. Share the page on you ...

Today a critical day in Las Conchas fight

First published: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 2:40 AM
Local fire officials predicted Tuesday the Las Conchas fire could grow much larger, but they tempered that dim view by saying they felt good about their odds of keeping it from the town of Los Alamos ...

KSFR back up after temporary loss of signal

First published: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 2:25 AM
The Las Conchas Fire apparently knocked out KSFR’s radio signal sometime Monday night, the station reported Tuesday morning. But as of noon Tuesday, the signal was back up and the station was ru ...

Resources called in from around region to combat Las Conchas blaze

First published: Monday, June 27, 2011 1:24 AM
A team that helped manage the fight against Arizona’s largest wildfire in history has now set its sights on battling the Las Conchas blaze. Team members from the Southwest Area Type 1 Incident ...

Mandatory Evacuations Ordered in Los Alamos

First published: Monday, June 27, 2011 1:01 AM
The following bulletin was sent out by Los Alamos County Los Alamos, NM – Los Alamos County officials are reporting the fire is now threatening Los Alamos. They are ordering a mandatory evacuat ...

Sediment floods Nambé Reservoir as monsoons dampen work on particle trap

First published: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 10:00 PM
In an effort to curb the debris flows that are possible after heavy monsoon rains hit the area burned in last month's Pacheco Fire, officials at Nambé Reservoir and the Bureau of Reclamation ar ...

Las Conchas Fire 75% contained

First published: Thursday, July 21, 2011 1:00 AM
ALBUQUERQUE — Federal officials on Wednesday finished mapping the severity of a massive wildfire burning in Northern New Mexico after crews slowed down the remaining flames with a series of burn ...

Ash halts draw from Rio Grande diversion project

First published: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 7:00 PM
Operators decided to shut down the Buckman Direct Diversion on Friday after they saw the water turn dark from ash from the Las Conchas Fire. They have no plans to begin drawing water from the Rio Gr ...

Special firefighting team helps save buildings at Bandelier National Monument from fast-moving Las Conchas Fire

First published: Sunday, July 10, 2011 11:00 PM
Wildland firefighter Matt Dutton awoke, disoriented, to a bright light at 3 a.m. on the first night the Las Conchas Fire raged through the Jemez Mountains. For a split second, he thought he was standi ...

Las Conchas Fire still 40 percent contained

First published: Thursday, July 07, 2011 8:02 PM
LOS ALAMOS — Despite windy conditions, firefighters report some progress in battling a wildfire still burning in the mountains near Los Alamos. In many areas, crews say they were able to extin ...

Area animal shelters welcome Los Alamos evacuees with open hearts, hands

First published: Thursday, July 07, 2011 7:19 PM
Stuff doesn't matter. When a fire licks at your doorstep, you get out with the things you love. That's what Lisa Inkret learned during the 2000 Cerro Grande Fire. This time around, she and her partn ...

Social media sites become valuable link to wildfire updates, resources

First published: Sunday, July 03, 2011 10:00 PM
Los Alamos evacuee Gordon Spingler is no tech slouch. He kept up with the Las Conchas Fire via text messages and emails while living with his son and other family members in Santa Fe last week. He als ...

As forest areas reopen, Pecos Canyon still feels burn of lost business

First published: Thursday, July 28, 2011 10:00 PM
The Santa Fe National Forest is set to reopen many of its gates on Saturday. But for the local businesses in Pecos Canyon, the economic damage from nearly a month of closures has taken a big toll. L ...

Weather, terrain hamper crews on Los Alamos fire

First published: Thursday, July 14, 2011 8:00 PM
ALBUQUERQUE — Firefighters were hampered Thursday by warmer weather and rugged terrain in their efforts to contain the state's largest wildfire, as the region's top forest official granted an in ...

Lab: Fire tab unknown, but 'snow day' costs $3 million

First published: Wednesday, July 06, 2011 8:00 PM
It is too early to say how much the Las Conchas Fire will cost Los Alamos National Laboratory, according to laboratory spokesman Kevin Roark. Some 13,000 LANL employees returned to work Wednesday. ...

Blaze damages structures at Dixon's Apple Orchard, but leaves most trees standing

First published: Thursday, June 30, 2011 10:00 PM
At 1 a.m. Monday, Cochiti Canyon and Dixon's Apple Orchard were expected to elude the north-burning Las Conchas Fire. But within minutes, the blaze leaped the ridge holding it back and headed for the ...

Some evacuees find safe haven at the homes of friends and strangers

First published: Thursday, June 30, 2011 10:00 PM
For Marian Kirchner, who evacuated her White Rock home with her 93-year-old mother Sunday evening, the experience brought back memories. During the Cerro Grande Fire in 2000, Kirchner received a pho ...

TNT Fireworks posts 'modest' political donations

First published: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 10:00 PM
You can't exactly call them major players in the world of political finance, but New Mexico's largest fireworks company, its subsidiaries and its employees have dropped more than $42,000 on New Mexico ...

Furry evacuees find refuge at area shelters

First published: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 1:00 AM
They evacuated their homes together, but pet owners and their animals have been forced to separate after fleeing the Las Conchas Fire. Since 8 a.m. Monday, people have brought more than 150 animals ...

NMfireinfo.com twitter updates

Additional resources

Las Conchas updates from Inciweb

Santa Fe NF Assessing Las Conchas Fire Area Road Safety (Las Conchas Wildfire)
NEWS RELEASE USDA Forest ServiceSanta Fe National ForestFor Immediate Release CONTACT: BRUCE HILL, JR. (505) 438-5320ROADSAFETYAugust 2, 2011 Santa Fe National Forest Assessin ...
Las Conchas BAER Implementation Update 08-02-11 (Las Conchas Wildfire)
Santa Fe National ForestLas Conchas FireBurned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Implementation-BAER Treatment Information-http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2406/Wednesday, August ...
For more information, visit Inciweb's Las Conchas Fire page.

Pacheco Canyon updates from Inciweb

Pacheco Fire Update (Pacheco Fire Wildfire)
Pacheco Fire UpdateJuly 2, 2011 6:00 p.m. Fire Information: (505) 438-53217:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.Acres: 10,250 Start date: June 18, 2011Cause: Under Investigation Location: 2 m ...
Pacheco Fire News Release (Pacheco Fire Wildfire)
Acres: 10,250 Start date: June 18, 2011Cause: Under Investigation Location: 2 miles north of Santa Fe Ski BasinContainment: 55 percent Fuels: Mixed conifer and Ponderosa pineT ...
For more information, visit Inciweb's Pacheco Canyon Fire page.

Pacheco Fire image gallery from The New Mexican photo staff

Las Conchas Fire image gallery from The New Mexican photo staff


Send us your news

If you have photos or videos of the current fires, please email us at webeditor@sfnewmexican.com.

Las Conchas Fire related images from LANL

Las Conchas videos posted to Youtube


Curated by The New Mexican